The Economics of Volunteering
Happy National Volunteer Week! Volunteers are more valuable than ever. According to the Independent Sector, the dollar value of a volunteer hour in Louisiana hit an all-time high in 2020 (the most recent year of published data) at $24.80. This 5.5% year-over-year increase represents the largest one-year jump in this measure since 2012.
Time spent serving your community can translate into valuable social and environmental benefits. This week, the team at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber will participate in a street cleanup event, working to make our community just a little bit better. The financial value of the BRAC staff’s time adds up quickly. On Wednesday, at least twenty-one BRAC employees will generate at least $1,560 in value to the Baton Rouge community in exchange for just three hours of service.
It’s estimated that almost 18,000 people work in Downtown Baton Rouge. This estimate, determined by a southern border of Government Street, on the north end by North Street, and on the east and west by I-110 and the river respectively, can help demonstrate the power of numbers when volunteering. If just half these workers spend three hours of their workday volunteering at some point this week, that would generate $670,000 in economic value to the Capital Region. Downtown BR represents just 4.4% of the Metro’s total employment; with more than 407,000 workers across Baton Rouge, our labor force has the capacity to generate some serious community benefits through an extra hour or two of volunteering.
Why a street cleanup?
Our staff at BRAC is participating in a street cleanup event in particular because, as you have likely noticed, litter is a pressing issue for the Metro. Thanks to our friends at Keep Louisiana Beautiful, we have the following stats to share with you:
● 81% of litter is intentional
● 70% of all roadside litter is generated by motorists and pedestrians
● 98.5% of litter in parks and playgrounds is attributable to pedestrians
Litter is also a significant drain on tax revenues. It’s estimated our state spends $40 million each year on litter removal, abatement, education, and enforcement. In addition to the pain litter brings to our city and state coffers, litter brings serious harm to our environment. For a state priding itself on its outdoor amenities, litter certainly doesn’t help us make our case.
The team at BRAC will spend some time cleaning up litter from our streets this week, but there are a host of volunteer opportunities available to you. If interested, you can check out Points of Light for volunteer ideas and Volunteer Louisiana for local volunteer opportunities.
Happy volunteering!